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My Year: 2018 (2 of 2)

26th Dec 2018
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Hello folks, this is the second of My Year: 2018 blog. As I mentioned in the first My Year: 2018, it will have an autobiographical bent.

I was in two minds about blog two. On reflection, I am going for it.

From September

In September 2018, I celebrated the date of my birth. Up to this point, I was more or less okay. In the sense, I was concentrating on the growth of FT Practice Ltd.  I am sure you know from my blogs, I was ambitious.

Most of my thinking used to be on how do I take the practice forward. Matters outside the practice did not concern me so much. I did not think much about my mortality.

Mental Shift

From the point of my last birthday, I changed.  This change was triggered by the realisation of my age, my current personal life and decisions I made in the past to be where I am today.

Since last September, I do not think I am an ambitious person any longer. On the practice front, I have taken a back seat. I am no longer going out of my way on expansion. No, let me be honest here, I am NOT working at all on growth. Despite this, the practice is doing okay.

Further, I have left most of the day to day work to Q. If I had my way I would leave everything to Q. This is not possible.  I am not sure what I would do.

What was 2018 like?

The purpose of today's blog is not to write my autobiography. It is to reflect on my 2018 year. It means I need to get to the point.

2018 was not a good year for me. I say this, simply because, I cannot reset my professional and personal life and start again with a clean slate. Yes, I know it can be done. If you think this, you are missing my point. Years gone are gone. You or I cannot be age X again and restart from that point.

Words of comfort

I am not looking for words of comfort folks. I will have to find my own way in 2019 and beyond. I am sure I will. 

Heart and Mind

I now see the practice as a way to earn an income. My heart and mind are no longer so much into it. 2019 will be about trying to change my life outside work. For this reason, I stopped my CTA studies and I did not sit the November exam. I do not want to spend my valuable hours studying!

Since the age of 16, I have worked very hard. I no longer want to carry on working as hard as I used to. 

Replies (3)

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By Ben Lauritson
28th Dec 2018 15:00

Although I don't know your personal circumstances beyond what you've described on your blog posts, on general principles it sounds like you're making a sensible decision there. As long as the practice income is sustainable and enough for you to live comfortably on then I see no harm in making that decision.

Anyway, it's good to see you on here again - I always used to enjoy reading your weekly blog posts even though I'm not normally one for commenting.

Enjoy the weekend and new year, whatever you have planned.

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By Matrix
31st Dec 2018 10:06

Thanks for the blogs.

I am sure the studying for CTA was useful and will give you confidence, so not a waste of time. I doubt clients would notice the letters if you did continue and most of the content is irrelevant to our day to day work.

As long as you have enough money to take out, can pay the rent and can pay Q then no need to stress yourself out expanding.

You sound very much in control which is empowering and will put you in good stead for 2019.

We binned a client at the end of the year, it is these decisions which make it all worthwhile, there have to be some benefits to working for yourself.

Thanks (2)
Glenn Martin
By Glenn Martin
02nd Jan 2019 00:03

Good to see you blogging again FT.

I feel a similar way to you around chasing growth. I have a good client base and I am focussing on selling more to them now to grow as oppose to chasing new work. all the time.

Its easier selling to existing clients, the more you do for them the more sticky they become to you. Chasing new work all the time takes time and marketing spend and time spent chasing new work means you are not spending time on work you already have.

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